Happenings of the Chabad Lubavitch אנ"ש community of Rockland County, New York

Friday, April 1, 2016

Parsha Perspective

By Rabbi
Yisroel Shusterman

This
week’s Parsha Perspective is dedicated by Mr. Binyomin Philipson in memory of
his late mother Mrs. Ellen (Elka bas Zisel) Philipson OBM

Sept. 11, 1941:

In Arlington,
Virginia, the U.S. Department of Defense starts construction on its new
headquarters, the Pentagon.

On the same day, a
new immigrant to the U.S., Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, later known as the
Lubavitcher Rebbe, writes in his private journal concerning two traits that
make a moral and productive human being: “fins” and “scales.”

A few days later,
the German army captures Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, and massacres 100,000
people in a ravine named Babi Yar.

Sept. 11, 2001:

The world is shocked
when passenger airliners crash into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center,
killing thousands.

In this week's Torah
portion (Shmeinei [Leviticus] 9:1-11:47) is the passage: “This may
you eat of all that is in the waters: everything that has fins and scales, you
may eat. But anything that has no fins and scales, you may not eat.”(11:9-10)

Kabbalah teaches
that the physical attributes of fish, and of all animals, reflect their
psychological and spiritual qualities. Therefore, when one eats the flesh of a
particular creature, the “personality” of that creature affects the person in
some way.

On September 11,
1941, the Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote in his journal:

As the armor that
protects the body of the fish, scales represent the quality of integrity, which
protects us from the many pitfalls that life presents. A man of integrity will
not deceive his customers, in spite of the financial profits involved. He will
not lie to a friend, despite the short-term gain from doing so. He will not
cheat on his wife, in the face of tremendous temptation. Integrity means that
one has absolute standards of right and wrong and is committed to a morality
that transcends one’s moods and desires.

Fins, the wing-like
organs that propel fish forward, represent ambition. A healthy sense of
ambition, knowing one’s strengths and wanting to utilize them in full, to
maximize his or her G‑d-given potential. It propels us to fulfill our dreams
and leave our unique imprint on the world.

Which of these two
qualities is more important to cultivate in life—fins or scales? What ought to
be the main function of education? Should we concentrate primarily on providing
our children with the confidence and skills necessary for them to become
accomplished human beings? Or ought we to focus more on raising children with
principles, teaching them that it is more important to do right than it is to
do well? Are the two equally significant?

The Talmud teaches
that all fish that have scales also have fins, but that there are fish that
have fins but no scales, and that such fish are not kosher. Symbolically, this
means that a human being who possesses ambition but lacks integrity is
“unkosher.” Such a person may be full of confidence, driven to make an impact
on society. Yet educating ambitious and confident children does not guarantee
their moral health.

On the other hand,
the Talmud tells us that all fish with scales have fins. While integrity is
fundamental, ambition is also important. By mentioning fins as one of the signs
of a kosher fish, the Torah teaches us that it is not enough to maintain our
own integrity; we must also have a positive effect on the world. The lesson of
the Talmud is that if we teach our children to approach life with awe before
truth, with an unyielding commitment to serve a transcendent, moral G‑d, they
will certainly succeed and develop “fins” as well. Regardless of their other
abilities, they will find the drive to improve themselves and to make the world
a better place.

The events of September
2001, like those of September 1941, dramatically altered our view of the world.
They demonstrated the destructiveness of people with fierce ambition and zeal
whose morality is corrupt. In his diary entry of September 11, 1941, the Rebbe
was emphasizing that if we don’t want evil to triumph, we must stand up with
great determination against human fish who possess fins but lack scales.